face was gray with anger. Then he
added, hotly: "You know well that word was meant for me!"

At this--God forgive me!--my jealous wrath broke bounds and I cursed him
for a beardless coxcomb who must needs think he stood alone in the eye
of every woman he should meet. "She needs a man!" I raged, lost now to
every sense of decent justice, "a man, I say! And to whom would she send
if not to her--"

I choked upon the word. He had risen with me, and we stood face to face
in that grim earth-womb, snarling fiercely at each other across the
narrow firelit space; two men with every tie to knit us close together,
and yet--God save us all!--a pair of wild beasts strung up to the
killing pitch because, forsooth, we must needs front each other across a
deadline drawn by the finger of a woman!

God knows what would have come of all this had my dear lad been as
fierce a fool as I. 'Twas his good common sense that saved us both, I
think, for when the savage rival madness was at its height he turned
away, swearing we were the very pick and choice of a world of asses to
stand thus feeling for each other's throats when, mayhap, the lady
needed both of us.

This brought me to my senses at a gallop, as you would guess; to them
and to the lighting of the conscience fire within whereon to grill the
wicked heart that but now had thirsted for a brother's blood.

"Now God have mercy on us both!" I groaned. "Forgive me, Dick, if you
can; I was as mad as any Bedlamite. If I have any claim on her, 'tis not
of her good will, you may be sure. You have the baronet to fear--not
me."

He shook his head and pointed to the parchment--to the line in French.

"Francis Falconnet was under the same roof with her--or at least in easy
call--when she wrote that, Jack. He is no longer my rival--nor yours."

His word set me thinking, and I would fall to picking out the strands
that jealous wrath had woven for me into the web of happenings. Setting
aside the story brought by Ephraim Yeates, there was no certain proof
that she had ever favored the Englishman; nay, more, till I had come to
be madly jealous of Falconnet, I had made sure that Jennifer was the
favored one.

At this, as one sees a landscape struck out clear and vivid by the
lightning's flash, I saw the true meaning of the word the hunter had
brought--saw it and went upon my knees to grope blindly for the sword I
had let fall when Dick had found the arrow.

"What is it, Jack?" he asked, gently